


Sake solves everything

by androgynousclintbarton



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21952393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/androgynousclintbarton/pseuds/androgynousclintbarton
Summary: Gai take's Kakashi out for a night after his first week of training his new Genin team and lets him vent
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai | Might Guy
Kudos: 63
Collections: KakaGai Week 2019 entries





	Sake solves everything

The weeks events ran through Kakashi’s mind, an endless replay of everything he had said and done with his new team. Every mistake he had made, every word he said wrong, it all kept coming back to him without a moment's pause. A constant barrage of thoughts.

“You’re overthinking it.” He didn’t bother to meet the other man’s gaze. Gai always said that, no matter what was going through Kakashi’s mind. He was always sure there was too much thinking going on, too much planning. The only time he had never heard Gai say such a thing to him was when they were in the middle of a battle. Those times, Gai wanted him to think. To analyze and prepare. 

Every other time it was too much. He was too lost in thought, dwelling on things too much. It was as if Gai believed he could turn his brain off, make it stop thinking, stop processing. Stop working. 

And boy did he wish he could. It would be nice to have a break, even if it was just a short one. 

“Why did Lord Third think this was a good idea?” He groaned, shoving his empty glass towards his friend and watching as he refilled it with more Sake “Seriously, me a teacher? That’s the dumbest idea ever.”

“It’s not a dumb idea,” Gai insisted, putting the bottle of Sake off to the side and pushing Kakashi’s glass back towards him “it’s your first week, everyone has doubts in their first week with new Genin.”

“You didn’t,” he narrowed his eye towards his friend. It was a true statement. Gai had been excited during his first week of training with his new team of Genin, he couldn’t wait to tell everyone who would listen about them, even going so far as to gush about their separate personalities and skill sets when his friends were willing to listen. He had been the proudest teacher ever, excited about the new challenge. Though, Gai had never not been excited about a new challenge. Not in Kakashi’s experience anyways. “Seriously though, the job is made for people like you, Gai.”

“People like me?” his friend gave him a skeptical look.

“No, no i didn’t mean…” he shook his head, picking up his glass and downing another glass of Sake to give himself a moment to rethink what he was going to say “i mean...You’re good with people. You always have been.” 

A small smile pulled at Gai’s lips. He always seemed to love it when Kakashi managed a compliment, they were so rare after all. 

“Just because you’re not good with people doesn’t mean you’ll be a bad Jonin Teacher,” He insisted, picking up the bottle of Sake once more and reaching over to refill Kakashi’s glass “it just takes some getting used to.”

That wasn’t it though. Kakashi wasn’t just bad with people, he was terrible with them. He was harsh, his words were always misunderstood. Hell he had made Naruto cry at least twice in the past week when that hadn’t been his intention at all. 

“I’ve had 27 years to ‘get used to’ talking to people,” he reminded his friend “i’m pretty sure i’m still terrible at it.”

Gai chuckled “you’re not the best, no,” He agreed with a fond smile “but you’ve come a far way from the little kid who called me Scum.”

Every nerve in his body went off. He hated the reminder of what a shit he had been as a kid, the person who thought so highly of himself. Thought he was somehow better than others because of what older shinobi said. That wasn’t who he wanted to be, and he never wanted another reminder of that part of his past again.

Though, admittedly, there was a lot about his past he would love to forget. 

“Gai, you don’t get it.” he stretched his arms out over the table and pressed his left ear against the hardwood, allowing himself a moment to rest as he looked up at his friend, “I'm the last person who should be allowed around kids, around a team of any kind. The last team I was on…”

A hand came down over his mouth, which was kind of pointless in his mind. All Gai was doing was covering the fabric of his mask, he wasn’t even prevent Kakashi from continuing to speak, though the gesture did tell Kakashi enough that he silenced himself. 

“If you keep thinking about the past, there’s no way you can move on into the future,” How was Gai always so wise sounding? Someone with that much energy and excitement had no right sounding smarter than him “Minato Senpai wouldn’t want you to compare this new team to your old one. It’s completely different.”

“I have one kid who thinks he’s better than the rest of his team, another one with a fiery determination to prove himself and show everyone how strong he is, and a Kunichi that’s too excited to praise her team member and has an insane skill with chakra control that could probably lead to a great future as a medical ninja.” As he listed off his students qualities, Kakashi watched Gai process everything, his face slowly starting to transfer into a pained look at he realized the similarities that Kakashi was making with his old team. “Tell me, how is that a team that isn’t made to remind me exactly of the past?”

“Well, I mean…” his friend winced, obviously unable to come up with an acceptable come back “You...you make it impossible to give a pep talk sometimes.”

“Pretty sure that’s why you hang around me.” He sat up once more and picked up his glass, his hand reaching up to remove his mask so he could take another shot. He stopped when Gai’s hand came down over his “Gai, i was joking.”

“You always say you’re joking,” Gai frowned “but you honestly...you don’t actually think…”

There he went again, fucking up a perfectly good pitty night by making Gai think he didn’t actually understand what their relationship was. Why Gai hung around him all these years, no matter how much Kakashi had tried to push him away in the past.

“I don’t think you hang out with me because i’m a downer, no.” He sighed in defeat “you made that clear long ago, Gai.” as he spoke, he removed his hand from his mask, instead placing it over Gai’s and running his thumb along the tender skin.

He never had been good with words, but thankfully Gai’s emotional intelligence more than made up for it. His gestures always seemed to get through to the other man, displaying exactly what he always failed at saying.

“It’s your first week,” Gai finally smiled that blinding beautiful smile that Kakashi loved so much. “I know it’ll be hard, but you’ll get there. Lord third gave you that team for a reason, and I know you’ll do great with them.”

“Because i’m your Rival?” Kakashi chuckled when Gai’s smile only seemed to grow.

“Exactly!” Gai proclaimed proudly “and as my rival you’re bound to challenge me in everything, including being a great teacher to young minds.”

There it was. That warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach that always came with Gai’s declarations of rivally. He loved that feeling more than anything.

“In that case,” he shoved the glass of sake away from him, determined to finish his night off on a much higher note than waking up with a hangover “I'll just have to accept your challenge.”

"That's the spirit Rival!" Gai threw his arms up triumphantly "before you know it your team will be just like your children!"

Well, that seemed unlikely. He really doubted Naruto was ever going to dress up like him the same way as Lee did for Gai, or that Sakura was going to go to him for life advice.

Jonin leader he could do. He had things to teach the kids after all. Life lessons for them to learn.

Team dad though? That seemed like something Gai would always do better than him at. 


End file.
